Instrument for inserting pessaries



Oct. 19, 1943. y L. L4WEINER 2,332,283

INSTRUMENT FOR INSERTING PESSARIES Filed Jan. 10, 1942 INVE IOR B WW! Patented Oct. 19,1943

, c UNITED STATES PATENT orr cs 'rNsrnUMENTi oR INSERTING PESSARIES Louis LWciner, New York, N. Y. Application January 10, 194:2,Srial No. 42d,278 1c Claims. (01. la 1 The invention relates to an instrument for. inserting .a pe'ssary in the vaginal'can-al and as herein embodied, is specifically adapted for use with pessaries of the so-oalled diaphragm type; The instrument, inits simplest form-forindia vidual .use, lisdesigned for pessaries of .onesize or diameter only and in ite moreeilaborate form for the'useof "physicians, :is readily adjustable for any of the various sizes in common'use.

An important feature of the invention consists in actually or in efiect, forming :the entire instrument of a continuous piece of 'material,"rpreferably round spring wire, free of ssharp-bendsor anglesiwhich would cause discomfort and prove objectionable in the use of the instrument'and likewise freeoi inaccessible surfaces where for-:

apart and shaped to serve as cooperating pessary engaging members;

Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the outer, or

' rear engaging member partly depressed and about to release the pessary.

. Fig63 is a cross sectional view on the line s 3 of Fig. 1, showing the outer or-rear engaging member in normal position or before it is de gaging member to the body. of the-instrument.

eign matter could deposit and accumulate to I render the. instrument unsanitary and dangerous to use.

A second feature of'the invention consists in giving .the instrument a body" shape such asto make the two ends thereof available for use as the cooperating engaging members by which the pessary is held in stretched or distended form required to facilitate insertion. This feature simplifies the, construction by avoiding the necessity of providing a pessary engaging member at an intermediate point to cooperate with an end:

member, as is commonlydone in the art.

A third feature of the invention'consists in a simple, effective and conveniently operated form of release for the pessary after it is inserted, it being only necessary to slightly compress the outer body portion of the instrument by light hand pressure, to free the pessary which thereupon, through the action of its flexible resilient rim, becomes self-distending within the vaginal canal, eifectively closing the same as required.

Other features of the invention, in addition to those mentioned above, will be brought to attention in the detail description which follows:

The accompanying drawing will serve to illustrate the construction of several 'formsof the instrument suitable for carrying the inventioninto effect but I do not Wish to be understood as intending to limit myself to the exact details shown as various changes may be m-ade'therein within the meaning of the inventionas outlined 50 inthe appended claims;

Inthe drawing-- g Fig. l is a perspective view of a-simple form of the instrument designed for use with-pessaries of one size or diameter only and made of a single wire loop, with the ends thereof relatively spaced v pessary..

Fig, 51s a perspective View of .a double wire form of the instrument of somewhat modified the parts shown in Fig. 5.

7 is a View in side-elevation, showing in dotted lines the pessary held by the instrument and also showing in dotted lines the rear pessary engaging: member depressed to' release the Fig. 8 is 'a similar viewshowing telescoping connections in the double Wire body for adjustin the" forward pessary engaging member as requiredrto accommodate any of the various sizes of pessaries now in common use and i Fig. 9 is a detail sectional View of the telescoping adjustment,

. Referring now to the drawing, the entire instrument shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, is preferably formed or a single length of round spring wire, doubled upon itself; at a point somewhat removedfrom the center thereof, to form a loop 1, the longer'side of which is given the usual curvature found in instruments of this class.

. As previously pointed out, an important feature of the invention consists in utilizing. the ends of the wire body as cooperating engaging members for holding a pessary stretched or distended which serves both to hold the pessary for'insertion and as an engaging .hookto withdraw it.

The outerior' rear end .5, is similarly doubled upon itself and'bent into a vertically disposed side 3 of the loop, as shown in Fig. 1, or, if preferred, it may be normally positioned above but in line with the same, as in Fig. 4, to be brought into straddling relation when depressed to release the pessary, by hand pressure upon the shorter side 2 of the loop.

The upper portion of the inverted U-shaped end is bent over, as indicated at 5 to give it a pessary retaining form and when depressed, this bent over portion rides down an incline 6 or into a notch, if preferred, formed by a short bend in the longer side 3 of the loop, as best shown in Fig. 2, thereby disengaging itself from the pessary and freeing the latter for self distention within the vaginal cavity.

When the inverted U-shaped end 5 normally 1 straddles the longer side of the loop, as in Fig. 1, accidental disengagement therefrom may be prevented by bending the extreme end I of the wire under the same, as shown in Fig. 3.

The entire instrument shownin Figs. 5 to '7, inclusive, is formed of a single length of wire, doubled upon itself. with the ends welded together or otherwise united, to form a continuous double strand body. The strands 8, 8 are spaced apart throughout a portion. 9 of their'length to provide an opening. Iii between them and are closely associated throughout theremainder of their length, as indicated at H.

A coil [2 is so formed in the double strand body,. t a point somewhat removedfrom the center thereof, as to bring the body portion H, in which thestrands' are closely associated, in centered alignment with the opening Iii between the spaced apart strands in body portion 9, as best shown in Fig. 5. Thus aligned, the body portion Il may be depressed to cause the pessary engaging end thereof to pass partly or entireiy through the opening 10, as may be required, to effect the release of the pessary and is utilized-for this purpose, as hereinafter described.

Upon completion of the coil i2,.the extending body portions 9 and II are bent into parallel relation, forming a loop 13, one side of which is longer than the other as a result of forming the coil off center, as above described.

The shorter side of the loop i. e., the body portion ll, is bent downwardly near its endto normally extend through the opening I!) in the body portion 9, as indicated at M and then upwardly at I5, to cause the extreme end l6 there of to project through and above the opening, where it is shaped to serve as the outer or rear pessary engaging member. While the above described formation gives rise to certain advantages, it is not essential to the successful operation of the device that the end of the shorter side of the loop be normally extended through the opening Iii, between the body wires 8, 8, and, if preferred, may be positioned above and in line with the opening, as shown in Fig. 6.

Cooperating with the member I6, there is a second pessary engaging member 11, formed ,at the extreme end of the longer side of the loop and as the two members are spaced apart in fixed relation, the instrument is limited, like the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4, for use with pessaries of one size or diameter only as required for individual use.

Assumin a pessary to beheld by the instru ment, as shown in Fig. 7, in which it is stretched or distended between the engaging members It and 11, its release is effected after insertion, by downward pressure of the hand upon the body portion H, to move its terminal member Hi from the full line to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 7. As the member H3 moves downward in the opening H], the pessary is prevented from following and being drawn into the opening by the spaced apartstrands cf the body portion 9 of the. instrument upon which it comes to rest and as the member l6 continues downward, it disengages itself from the rim of the pessary, permitting it by self distension to free itself from the member I and expand and close the vaginal cavity. As the hand pressure is discontinued on the body portion l l of the instrument, it springs back under the reaction of the coil 12, to its normal position, shown in full lines in Fig. 7.

The form of the instrument shown in Figs. 8 and 9, is designed for the use of physicians, in being readily and conveniently adjustable for any of the various sizes of pessaries now in con"- mon use and excepting the feature of adjustment, the construction is the same as that above described and shown in Figs. 5 to 7, inclusive.

To make the instrument adjustable to different size pessaries, it is only necessary to provide for varying the distance separating the pessary engaging members It and I! and this is accomplished by incorporating a telescoping connection in each of the. strands forming the body portion 9 By means of these connections, the body portion 9 ofthe instrument may be lengthened or shortened to relativelyspace the members Hi and IT apart as required by the size or. diameter to be used.

Interposed within the length of the body portion 9 tubular sections l8, i8 are secured as continuations of the body wires, being made fast thereto at the ends [9, adjacent the coil l2 and provided with chucks or equivalent means Nat their open ends 2!, in which the body wires 8, 8--, carrying the forward pessary engaging member Il telescope and are clamped to hold the member as adjusted. As the chucks orother clamping means employed are of well known construction, as shown in Fig.9, itwill not be necessary to describe'them in detail.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An instrument of i the class described, comprising a body of suitable material in the form of a compressible loop terminating'in end formations suitable for engaging the rim of a pessary,

the sides of the loop being of unequal length to space the ends apart the required distance to hold a pessary distended between them, the release of the pessary thus held being efiected by compressing the loop to give the pessary engaging end of the shorter side thereof cross movement relative to the longer side to strip the pessary from saidengaging end and free the same.

2. An instrument as defined in claim 1, in which the entire formation is developed from a single length of resilient material.

3. An instrument as defined in claim 1, in which the entire formation is developed from a single length of resilient material and a coil is formed at the point where the material is doubled upon itself. I

4. An instrument as defined in claim 1, in which the-entire formation is developed from a continuous length of resilient material which is first doubled upon itself and the ends united to form a. two-strand body and thereafter doubled upon itself to form the loop.

5. An instrument as defined in claim 1, in which the longer side of the double strand loop is formed of extensible telescoping sections and provided with clamping means for securing the sections as extended.

6. An instrument of the'class described, comprising a body of suitable material doubled upon itself to form a loop having sides of unequal length and spaced apart hook-like ends adapted to hold a, pessary distended between them and means for releasing the pessary, the said means consisting in making the end portion of the shorter side of the loop depressi'ble to move the pessary into engagement with the longer side thereof to check further movement of the pessary and further depressible to disengage itself from the pessary and free the latter for selfdistension within the vaginal canal.

'7. An instrument as defined in claim 6, in which the pessary engaging end of the shorter side of the loop is shaped to straddle the longer side thereof.

8. An instrument as defined in claim 6, in which the pessary engaging end of the shorter side of the loop is shaped to straddle and ride down an incline formed in the longer side there of to disengage itself from the pessary.

9. An instrument of the class described, comprising a resilient body in the form of a loop terminating in hook-like ends, the sides of the loop being of unequal length to space the ends apart the required distance to hold a pessary distended between them, the said loop being compressible to give the engaging end of the shorter side thereof cross movement relative to the longer side to strip and release the pessary from the engaging end of the shorter side, the entire formation being developed from a continuous length of material which is first doubled upon itself and the ends united to form a two strand body and thereafter again doubled upon itself to form the loop, said strands being spaced apart throughout that portion of their length that forms the longer side of the loop to provide an opening between them and associated in such close relation throughout the remaining portion of their length that forms the shorter side of the loop that when the loop is compressed to free the pessary, the pessary engaging end of the shorter side enters and is guided by the opening between the strands of the longer side of the loop.

10. An instrument of the class described, comprising a resilient body in the form of a loop terminating in hook-like ends, the sides of the loop being of unequal length to space the ends apart the required distance to hold a pessary distended between them, the said loop being compressible to give the engaging end of the shorter side thereof cross movement relative to the longer side to strip and release the pessary from the engaging end of the shorter side, the entire formation being developed from a continuous length of material which is first doubled upon itself and the ends united to form a two-strand body and thereafter again doubled upon itself to form the loop, said strands being spaced apart throughout that portion of their length that forms the longer side of the loop to provide an opening between them through which the end portion of the shorter side of the loop extends and is then bent upwardly with its hook-like end projecting through and above the opening to engage the pessary.

LOUIS I. WEINER. 

